Apparatus for defecating saccharine juices



(No Model.) 2 Sheet-sSheet 1.

J. B. WILKINSON.

APPARATUS FOR DEFEOATING SAGCHARINE JUICE.

N0. 588,521. Patented Aug. 17, 1897:

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' J. WILKINSON. APPARATUS FOR DEFEGATING SAGOHARINE JUICE.

(No Model.)

. N0. 588,521. Patented Aug. 17,1897.

UNITED STATES JOSEPH BIDDLE WVILKIN SON, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

APPARATUS FOR DEFECATING SACCHARIN E JU ICES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 588,521, dated 'August17, 1897.

7 Application filed February 28, 1896. Serial No. 581,178. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that [,JOSEPH BIDDLE WILKIN- SON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at New Orleans,in the parish of Orleans and State ofLouisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inOlarifiers and Defecators; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for the defecation ofcane-juice; and it consists of certain novel features hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

The quality of sugar is largely determined by the clarification of thecane-juice.

To make good sugar, it is essential to have good clarification as apreliminary step. Other things being equal the better the clarificationthe better will be the sugar made. Not only this, but the quantity ofsugar obtained from a given quantity of cane-juice will beproportionately increased with the degree of improved clarificationunless clarifiants be used destructive to the-crystalline character ofthe cane sugar.

There are two prominent processes employed in the clarification ofcane-juice, both supplemented by chemical reagents. One is to cause itsimpurities through heat to rise and fioat on its surface, the other tocause a portion of the impurities to separate and through gravitation tosettle on the bottom or near the bottom of the clarifying vessel. Thislast is known as precipitation or sedimentation, and my inventionrelatesespecially to this latter process. The usual practice is to bringup the can e-j nice to the boiling-point or a trifle below the same andto remove the scum which arises with a skimmer, continuing this processwith the cane-juice at or near the point of ebullition until, in thejudgmentof the operator, the juice is sufficiently defecated. The heatis then shut off and the juice is then allowed to remain for a time tosettle or is drawn off into what are called precipitators orsettling-tanks. The objections urged against this continued skimmingprocess are that boiling excites constant currents of .circulation inthe juice, breaking up the particles of coagulated matter which juiceensues that of precipitation.

had been brought into a state of mechanical suspension by the heatapplied, and thatv these currents through the juice keep these particlesof impurities in such constant agitation as to prevent-their properseparation from the body of the juice. It is well known that the moreminute the particles of matter, are in a state ofmechanical suspensionin. a fluid the more difficult is it to effect their separation from thefluid. Thus particles can beso finely divided that they will remainpermanently suspended in a fluid or even in air, although the medium inwhich they are suspended be in a state of perfect rest. As theseparticles in cane-juice are, according to their amount, more or lessobstructive to the formation ofsugar of a high standard and have also achemical character damaging not only to the qualitybut to the quantityof sugar, it becomes important as far as possible to remove them.

Following the process of skimming the As commonly practiced this isentirely inadequate to the end desired and fraught with variousobjections. Generally the skimmed juice is allowed to settle for a shorttime in the clarifier after being skimmed and then drawn off into othertanks for further precipitation or immediately into theconcentratingpans. This process is open to the following objections:First, the time allowed for effective precipitation is not sufficientfor this purpose; second, deeantation at the time of precipitation bybreaking up the particles of coagulated matter renders their furtherseparation more difficult and perhaps impossible, and,

further, the sedimentation in open vessels presents the seriousobjection that exposure of the juice to the air subjects it to thedanger of molecular changes through fermentation, this increasing indegree as the exposure is prolonged. It is safe to afiirm that no juicecan be allowed to remain a sufficient length of time in open vessels forproper precipitation without serious loss (through molecular changes) inquantity and quality of sugar. Cane-juice as run from the clarifiers andleft in the open settling-tanks is in a most favorable conditionfor-fermentation.

Fermentation is slow to take place below Fahrenheit and is arrested at atemperature somewhat below the boiling-point. It is most favored betweenand 100. These data, then, taken from standard authorities, show thatthe valuable adjunct of clarification through precipitation in opentanks is surrounded with dangers and open to various objections. If thejuice is hurried forward, precipitation is interfered with or arrested.If left long enough in the open tanks the evils, of fermentation ensue.

In the manufacture of sugar fermentation is believed to be themanufacturefis greatest foe. Could this evil be arrested he would havelittle difficulty in bringing his work in sugar-making to a high degreeof perfection. The agents of fermentation are at work upon the juice asit runs from the mill and threaten it at almost every stage of itsjourney in its transformation into crystalline matter. It is a mistaketo suppose that ferinents have only done their evil work when theseeffects become apparent to our sight and taste. These are but theemphasized expressions of the ferments assaults upon the sweet liquid,the insidious foe had been at work long before. From these premises itfollows that the canejuice should be hurried as rapidly as possible fromthe mill to the clarifier, and that the process of clarification shouldbe done in closed vessels to exclude the air and in vessels ofsufficient strength to bear safely at pressure of about fifteen poundsto the square inch above atmospheric pressure. Two advantages arepresented by this procedure. First, the exclusion of the air would allowmuch longer time for precipitation of the impurities of the heatedjuice; second, heated to a higher temperature under pressure the proteinor albuminose matter, so important to engender fermentation, would bemore thoroughly separated and the germs of organic life necessary toproduce fermentation more certainlydestroyed. (Jane-juice thus actedupon in closed vessels could be kept, as regards time, almostindefinitely without fermentation. The preservation of meats, fruits,and vegetables in sealed cans for long periods of time illustrate thevalue of clarifying cane-juice under conditions preventive offermentation. In this method greater time would also be allowed toseparate the impurities from its saccharine matter than that practicedin open vessels through skimming and precipitation.

The mechanism best adapted to the clarification of juice in closedvessels may present itself in different forms to different persons, butI have shown one form of a pparatus which I believe suitable for thispurgose.

Reference is bad to the accompanying drawings, in which the same partsare indicated by the same letters throughout the several views.

Figure l'represents the apparatus in elevation. Many of thenon-essential elements are omitted and the apparatus is showndiagrammatically. Fig. 2 represents a central in any convenient way, andin which the lime or other chemical reagents are added to the juicebefore it is carried over to the elarifiers. There should be enough ofthese tanks A to allow them to be frequently washed out, so thatfermentation may be as far as possible avoided before the juice gets tothe clarifiers. The juice is pumped from these tanks A through thebranch pipes b and the main pipe B to the pump 0, whence it is deliveredthrough the pipe D and the branches d to the clarifiers E. These variousmain and branch pipes are provided with valves wherever required, andso, in fact, are all the pipes in the system, and it will not benecessary to refer to these valves specifically.

The clarifiers E are preferably made of a cylindrical shell E withspherical bottom E and dome-shaped top E and both top and bottom aresecured to the cylindrical shell, so as to make a steam-tight joint, asby bolts 6, or in any other convenient way. The top E is made detachablefor purposes of occasional cleaning out, and is preferably provided withan eyebolt e, to which a tackle can be hooked, whereby the top may beconveniently lifted off after the bolts 0 are unscrewed. This top or capE is also preferably provided with a valve-seat c for the safety-valveQ, but this valve-may be connected to the shell E or attached to theclarifier in any convenient way.

The heated juice is drawn from the clarifierthrough the branch pipesfandthe pipes F into the pipe G, whence it is delivered through the pipes gto the tanks II, from which tanks the clarified juice is pumped to thevacuum pans or other concentrating apparatus. (Not shown.) The settlingsin the bottoms E are drawn off through the pipes 70 into the pipe K,whence they are delivered through the pipes it into the tanks L. Theclearer portion of the liquid in the tanks L is drawn off through thepipe M, while the more turgid portions are drained through the pipes 77and the main pipe N to the filter-press P, which is operated in theusual well-known way.

The juice in the elarifiers is heated by a steam-pipe, preferably in theform of a coil R, the steam being fed in through the pipes r andcontrolled by the valve r, while the condensed water from this coil Reither escapes, as at r", or is led to the hot-well by any suitablepipe. (Not shown.) Any other arrangement of heating-pipes may beadopted, if preferred.

Sight-tubes S are preferably provided on each clarifier, but these arenot absolutely necessary. In practice it would be preferable to have asufficient number of the clarifiers to allow the heated juice to coolslowly and to settle gradually, but if it be desired to expedite theprocess of cooling a waterjacket T, inclosing each clarifier or a partthereof, may be added to the apparatus, if desired. Thus I have shownsuch a waterjacket, which is illustrated in detail in Fig. 2, the coldwater being fed in through the pipe and. escaping through the pipe i,but this water-jacket would not ordinarily be necessary.

For purposes of cleaning out the clarifier and to avoid removing thecover E more often than is absolutely necessary I provide a wash-outpipe W for water and a steam-pipe V for injecting steam into theclarifier after the juice has been withdrawn therefrom. In order toobtain the best effects from this jet of steam or water, the same may beeither provided with roses or they may be provided with orifices set atan angle to the inner surface of the cylindrical shell, whereby a spiralor vertical direction may be given to the steam or Water, and thus thevarious parts of the interior of the shell may be more thoroughlycleansed than were these jets to be projected directly in toward thecenter of the clarifier. These steam and water pipes should alsopreferably be so arranged that a hose may be coupled onto the same whenthe top E is removed, and thus each and every part of the interior ofthe clarifier may be reached by the steam or water, or both.

In the operation of the device the clarifier is filled with juice verynearly to the top of the cylindrical portion, and then steam is turnedon to the heating-coil R. The heat is continued until a pressure ofabout fifteen pounds above that of the atmosphere is attained on theinside of the clarifier, at which pressure the temperature of theliquidsis about 240 Fahrenheit, prior to which time all of the albumenwill have been coagulated. This pressure may be noted either from anordinary pressure-gage (not shown) attached to the clarifier, or fromthe blowing off of the safety-valve Q. After the heatedjuice hasremained long enough to cool and V settle sufficiently the clearerportions are drawn off through the pipes f, while the scum and sedimentare drawn off through the pipe 715, as has been hereinbefore described.

After discharging, each clarifier'should be either washed out throughthe steam and water pipes already mentioned, or the tops may beperiodically removed and the clariffer thoroughly cleaned out.

By having a large vessel, which is heated and cooled gradually, theconnection-currents are not violent and the solid particles are notbroken up so fine as to fail to be readily precipitated during theprocess of cooling.

The exclusion of the air prevents the molecular changes due tofermentation. The application of the high heat is destructive to thoseforms of germ-life upon which fermentation depends. These are some ofthe principal advantages of my improved process and apparatus, to whichmay be added the maintenance of the exclusion of air and thepreservation of the juice at a temperature above that which permitsfermentation for a sufficient length of time to permit more perfect freeprecipitation of the coagulated elements of the juice, the employment ofa higher degree of heat to coagulate the vegetable albuminoids than ispossible in open vessels, where the separation of these impurities isonly partiahand the quiescent condition of the juice during the processof precipitation, as well as the simplicity of the operation ofclarification in closed vessels.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent of'the United States, is

1. In an apparatus for defecatin g and clarifying cane-juice, a closedvessel adapted to withstand internal pressure,a pump and pipes forsupplying juice to said vessel, a steamcoil mounted in said vessel nearthe base thereof and adapted to heat said juice from contact with theexterior of said steam-coil,

pipes for drawing ofi the clearer portion of the juice after it has beensettled, and a separate pipe for drawing off the sediment from the baseof said vessel, and a jacket inclosing the sides of said vessel, withmeans for injecting fluid into said jacket for cooling the contents ofsaid vessel, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for defecating and clarifying cane-juice, a closedvessel adapted to withstand internal pressure,a pump and pipes forsupplying juice to said vessel, a steamcoil mounted in said vessel nearthe base thereof and adapted to heat said juice from contact with theexterior of said steam-coil, pipes opening into the said vessel near thebase thereof for drawing off the clearer portion of the juice after ithas settled, and a separate pipe opening into the base of said vesselfor drawing off the sediment, anda jacket inclosing the sides of saidvessel,with means for injecting fluid into said jacket for cooling thecontents of said vessel, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus for defecating and clarifying cane-j uice, a closedvessel provided with a steam-tight top entirely removable, and asafety-valve, a pump and pipes for supplying juice to said vessel andfor drawing off the juice therefrom when desired, and a steamcoilmounted in the said vessel near the base thereof and an opening throughthe sides of said vessel, and adapted to heat the juice by contact withthe exterior of said coil, and a jacket inclosing the sides of saidvessel,with means for injecting fluid into said jacket for cooling thecontents of said vessel, substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus for defecating and clarifying cane-juice, a closedvessel with a steamtight top wholly removable, and a curved bottom, apump and pipes for supplying juice to said vessel, a steam-coil mountedin said vessel near the base thereof and adapted to heat IIO the juicefrom contact with the exterior of said coil, pipes mounted in the sidesof said Vessel near the base thereof for drawing off the clearer portionof the juice after it has settled, and a separate pipe connected to thelower portion of the curved bottom and adapted to draw off the sedimentfrom the said Vessel, and a jacket inclosing the sides of saidvessehwith means for in jecting fluid into the said jacket for coolingthe contents of said 10 vessel, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH BIDDLE WILKINSON.

Witnesses:

E. H. BINDLEY, Jr,

l l i i l JOHN J. SANCIE.

